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heard people yelling and screaming. She stood aghast and tongue tied. Her
ears stood like those of a scared donkey. She stood still.
Taprandich picked her basket and began to leave for home. All of a
sudden, a leopard appeared. Taprandich was scared beyond words. Before
she could do anything, the leopard leapt into her basket. It was panting and
visibly scared. Taprandich made up her mind. She would save the animal.
She folded the basket and hid the animal.
Armed hunters soon got into Taprandich’s farm. One of the hunters
asked her about the whereabouts of the leopard. Taprandich told him that
she had not seen the animal.
The other hunters murmured. They doubted the sincerity of the woman.
Unknown to them, the animal was inside the woman’s basket. It was buried
in the millet grains the woman had harvested. The armed hunters were
sweating profusely. All they wanted was to kill the leopard.
The hunters shook their heads in disappointment and walked back to
the village. Taprandich smiled with satisfaction. She felt she had won. Sadly,
she did not know what lay head of her. When the hunters had disappeared
into the forest, the old lady opened the basket. The leopard was no longer
panting. It was very relaxed. Taprandich noticed that the leopard appeared
tired and weary. Its eyes seemed weak and sickly.
Slowly, the leopard came out of the basket and stretched itself. Swiftly
and without warning, the leopard let out a strange sound. It then pounced
on Taprandich. She tried to scream but the leopard tightened its grip on her
throat. No sound could come out! Finally, she died. Hours later, Taprandich’s
grandchildren wondered why she could not join them for lunch.
That evening, Taprandich’s grandchildren went out to look for her. It
was then that they discovered the remains and clothes of their grandmother
beside her basket. They began and within a short time, a crowd of anxious
villagers gathered around them. The hunters realized that Taprandich had
lied to them.